Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Jean Piaget, an influential Swiss developmental psychologist and epistemologist, is best known for his theory of cognitive development, which posits that children progress through a series of structured stages in their neurological development, each marked by qualitatively different modes of thinking. Central to Piaget’s theory is the idea that children are active learners who construct knowledge through direct interaction with their environment, forming increasingly complex mental structures. His work emphasized logical-mathematical reasoning as the pinnacle of cognitive maturation, with formal operational thought—marked by abstract logic and hypothesis testing—representing the “end-state” of intellectual development. Piaget’s influence on developmental psychology and education has been profound, with educators drawing on his model to shape curricula that align with children’s cognitive capacities at various stages.

Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences aligns with Piaget’s work in several foundational ways. Both theorists view children as active agents in their own learning, constructing meaning through experience and internalizing patterns of reasoning. Gardner, like Piaget, values the developmental perspective and acknowledges that intelligences emerge and evolve through interaction with the environment. Furthermore, Gardner’s notion that children develop domain-specific competencies, such as linguistic, musical, or bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, resonates with Piaget’s idea that children form cognitive schemas through specialized engagement with the world. Both theorists also emphasize the role of symbolic representation—language, play, drawing, etc.—as a critical means of understanding and expressing thought.

However, Gardner diverges from Piaget in significant and revealing ways. While Piaget’s model privileges logical and abstract reasoning as the apex of intellectual growth, Gardner challenges the assumption that these faculties are the only markers of intelligence. In keeping with this, Gardner criticizes the universalizing tendency of Piaget’s stages, which he believes undervalues the diversity of cognitive strengths across individuals and cultures. Moreover, where Piaget’s theory centers on a single, general trajectory of intellectual development, Gardner’s MI theory proposes multiple, relatively autonomous intelligences that can develop unevenly and do not necessarily converge on a single mode of reasoning. This distinction represents a philosophical divergence: Piaget seeks to identify universal structures of thought, while Gardner foregrounds cultural, neurological, and individual variation in cognitive expression.